


Asteraceae

by orphan_account



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Non-Binary Chara, POV Third Person Limited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2018-12-22 11:19:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11966289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The king and queen had tried their own healing magic, and had called practically every physician and doctor in the underground to see their sick child. Save one.





	Asteraceae

**Author's Note:**

> If you listen closely, you can hear the leitmotif for Gaster’s Theme in Once Upon a Time and Undertale, and it can be heard very clearly in His Theme. Considering that, it occurred to me that "His" could be referring to either Asriel or Gaster.
> 
> Conspiracy theories aside, the idea that Gaster knew the royal children before they died is pretty interesting to me, and it’s one I haven’t seen explored very often. This is essentially an attempt to do so myself, at least between Gaster and Chara.
> 
> This piece uses Aster as the font Gaster’s dialogue. If you have the style enabled but you can’t see the font, it’s probably because it’s not installed on your computer. New Aster Roman can be downloaded [here](https://www.fontyukle.net/en/New+Aster+Roman.ttf).
> 
> You could also just Google it if you don’t trust some random person on the internet not to send you to download something that’ll bug your computer. I won’t take it personally.

With the latest modifications to the blueprints complete, Gaster attempted once again to summon his latest invention. He pictured the specs, one portion at a time, putting the device together in his mind. He imagined the symbols which only he understood, detailing the function of each and every component. When he had constructed the complete picture, he attempted to channel it through his soul. Little white glowing specs began to appear, steadily growing in size and number. They pulled together, and the vague image of a large, white skull began to manifest itself from them. Then–

* Ring, ring…

Gaster’s concentration shattered, along with the half-formed skull, the points of light it was made out of quickly fading out of existence. “Damn!” He exclaimed, having been mere moments away from finally getting the infernal device working properly for the first time. He took a moment to collect himself and then, still somewhat aggravated, grabbed his phone off the nearby table. “Yes, yes, what is it?”

“Howdy, Gaster.”

“O-oh, your majesty.” Hearing the king’s voice on the other end of the receiver immediately shifted his attitude.

“Sorry, I was not interrupting anything, was I?”

“No, of course not. What can I do for you, sir?”

“Well, as I am sure you already know… our child has fallen ill.”

“… Yes, I’m aware.” Nothing could’ve stopped such devastating news from spreading through the kingdom like a plague.

“We have tried everything we could think of. I know you are not a doctor of medicine, but…”

Gaster cut in, “I’ll be there as soon as possible, Asgore.”

“… Thank you. We will see you soon.”

Since Gaster had heard of the human’s predicament, he’d suspected he may be the last resort. He hastily began gathering implements in preparation to leave for New Home.

|{|{|{|{|{|{|

Having finished the examination, Gaster set his equipment aside. It was no surprise the other doctors had such little success in determining Chara’s aliment, considering they had no experience with humans. By now, most monsters in the underground had never even seen the surface. For Gaster, however, finding the cause of the illness was a simple matter.

“Buttercup poisoning,” He spoke softly, so as not to wake the sleeping prince.

“… Excuse me?” Chara’s voice was barely audible, raspy and hoarse. The sickly-sweet flowers had been wreaking havoc on their insides, and their vocal chords were not spared.

“You are suffering from buttercup poisoning.”

“I… do not know what you are talking about.”

“Come now, Chara. I would think you’d know that am not so easily deceived. You are planning to destroy the barrier with the prince, are you not?” It would be a lie to say that Gaster had not thought of this himself. It was so obvious. Though he had not once considered carrying it out. Killing any one person for the ‘greater good’ had been proven a vain act frequently through history, not even to mention that killing six more would likely provoke another war. And, killing someone their majesties clearly cared so deeply for… It was out of the question.

“Well. I suppose I should not have expected to hide this from the ‘greatest mind in the underground.’ What do you intend to do?”

“I’m afraid there isn’t much I can do. You’re beyond recovery.”

“Good.”

Gaster paused, slightly taken aback. He took a moment to regard the human. This was the first time he had observed such utter disregard for one’s own life. Perhaps, even… disdain? Rationally, he understood how and why this could happen. Of course, it still felt wrong.

“… Chara… Do you know how much the Dreemurrs care about you? The prince, especially.” He glanced momentarily at the bed behind him. The small monster under its covers did not stir. “Had you considered the possibility that the price of freedom might be too great for us, given the choice?”

“Their care for me is misguided. And if you find value in my life, then you must not be as brilliant as you seem. Humans are beyond redemption.”

“I will admit to some bitterness, but one of the things I have learned here is that you cannot accurately use race as a basis for value.”

“Even if humanity is valuable, you have seen what we have done. What we are capable of.”

Gaster let out a sigh somewhere between exasperated and disappointed. “If this is still what you believe... then we have failed you, Chara. I loathe to imagine what could have happened to you on the surface which would have so thoroughly damaged your perspective. Not that it matters much, now that you’ve sealed your fate.” He had tried, and was trying, but could think of nothing. No clear solution, no way to fix the problem became clear. It was something he had experienced more than once before. Detached, resigned, he stood up from his seat and started to walk toward the room’s exit. Fortunately, as a scientist, objectivity was something he was very good at. Despite this, the worried ache beginning to form in his ribcage refused to dissipate fully. He knew what this would cause, whether or not it succeeded. Perhaps, he thought, it would be a good idea to get the blasters working sooner rather than later. “I’ll be leaving if you don’t need anything else.”

“There is one more thing.”

He looked back and raised an eyebrow, a phenomenon which has always mildly confused Chara, as it likely would now if they were in a state to be curious about a skeleton’s ability to form facial expressions. “Yes?”

“… Please… do not tell Toriel and Asgore about this. I chose buttercups for a reason.”

A reason he had already discerned himself, and concurred with. At the very least, the king and queen would not know that their child committed suicide. They would not have the opportunity to blame themselves. The one sensible part of an otherwise completely irrational act. Then again, he supposed, they had a rationality all of their own, didn’t they? “Very well. I believe it would only serve to cause more unnecessary pain.”

“I am glad we can agree on something.”

He resumed walking out of the bedroom. He paused for a moment before leaving, looking back at the human. The person who had brought hope to the underground. Who had brought the prospect of a future in which humans and monsters would live in peace and harmony. Who had brought as much joy to the Dreemurrs as their own child. With no way to prevent the damage which would inevitably be caused, he simply said “Goodbye, Chara,” and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. 

He made his way to the throne room where the king and queen were waiting for him, knowing that they would be plunged further into a pit of hopelessness by what he would have to tell them. Chara waited until they could no longer hear his receding footsteps before they spoke.

“Goodbye, Doctor.”

|{|{|{|{|{|{|

Back in his lab, Gaster sunk into the nearest chair, and set the container he had been carrying on the desk next to it. Staring at its contents, he took a deep breath, letting it back out slowly. Then, he pulled an audio recorder out of his coat pocket and hit the record button.

“Entry number ✏̮̟̂̿︎͙͈́♈̽͌︎̖͍̺͌. The king has just finished giving a, quite literally, fiery re-declaration of war on humanity. Afterward, he pulled me aside to ‘have a word.’ There was no rage in his voice when he did. Only pain… Just like him, I suppose. Despite everything that has happened, not once have I ever seen him truly angry. No doubt he knew that the death of the royal children would eliminate all hope of a bright future, and that the people would need something to keep them going.

“Apparently…” The red, glowing heart Gaster stared at continued to bob up and down lazily. “Apparently, the human's soul survived the ordeal. When Asgore found it in the garden, it seemed to be fading away, he told me. He almost didn't notice it. Once he did and realized what it was, he immediately sealed it in one of the prototype containers. He… wanted to give it to me. I asked him if I should really be the one to have it. Surely, he should keep the very soul of his own child. But he was insistent. He believed I could ‘make better use of it than him.’

“The idea of ‘using’ a soul like a tool is not appealing, to say the least. But it is what the king thinks is best. And I suspect, considering recent events… the human would have wanted this, too. Absorbing it and executing their plan is out of the question. Asgore knew that. The resulting war would likely end in the eradication of monster kind. But the sheer power of a human soul… it may be exactly what I've needed.”

He hit the stop button and put the recorder back in his pocket. The soul's glow was dim, and it floated near the bottom of the container. It was impossible to say for certain without a point of reference, but it looked weak. Drained. Like is had lost its willpower. Was it possible for one's consciousness to exist with only a soul…?

“Your sacrifice will not be in vain, Chara. Of that I will make certain.”


End file.
